Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are mainly looking to Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester City players for the Gameweek 9 captaincy, and as per usual, the Captain Sensible article is here to highlight which assets have the best chance of hauling.
First, we will assess the fallout of the captain poll, before then analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 BST deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Erling Haaland (£12.0m) is the clear winner of the captain poll, with just under 46% of total votes from users at the time of writing.
No other player has garnered more than 19% of votes at this stage, with Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) currently in second place, backed by 18.3% of our users.
James Maddison (£7.9m) occupies third place with circa 9% of votes, followed by Harry Kane (£11.4m) and Ivan Toney (£7.3m), with 4.24% and 4.06% respectively.
THE MAIN CANDIDATES
MOHAMED SALAH/TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
Mohamed Salah re-enters the captaincy conversation after an enforced hiatus which saw Liverpool suffer consecutive blank Gameweeks after Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Salah rediscovered his goal-scoring touch on international duty, bagging a brace in Egypt’s 3-0 victory over Niger before his early return to Liverpool – adding further minutes of crucial rest to the bank.
The immediate fixture against Brighton represents a “make or break” moment in Salah’s season with difficult fixtures to follow, against Arsenal and Manchester City respectively, likely to test the resolve of even the most ardent Salah supporters.
Salah’s underlying goal threat numbers make for underwhelming reading, with 17 shots and 14 shots inside the box over the last six matches significantly behind the division-leading Aleksandar Mitrovic – who has registered 28 goal attempts over the period.
Despite Salah failing to hit the dizzy heights of his gold standard, Liverpool’s Egyptian ranks fifth-best for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI) over the last six matches, with 4.09.
Above (click to expand): Mohamed Salah ranks fifth-best for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI) over the last six matches, with 4.09
The return from injury of the metronomic Thiago Alcantara (£5.2m) should give Liverpool more control in the Reds’ problematic midfield area which has struggled with ball progression and control in his absence.
Liverpool’s visitors Brighton have impressed defensively this season ranking joint best for clean sheets (three) and goals conceded (five) over the last six matches.
The Seagulls place third-best for shots on target conceded (18) and have conceded a mere seven big chances over the period – with only Tottenham Hotspur conceding fewer (six).
Zonally, Brighton have demonstrated a strong defensive spine ranking joint-third best for chances conceded in central positions (12).
However, these gold standard defensive numbers were accrued under the stewardship of Graham Potter whose departure leaves a huge void – and big shoes for newly appointed manager Roberto De Zerbi to fill.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m) has endured a difficult start to the season with Liverpool, which has been compounded with his possible omission from England’s World Cup squad for Qatar.
The Liverpool full-back is a darling of both models and metrics because of his proven career-level production but two attacking returns and a solitary clean sheet struggle to justify his lofty price tag.
While the underlying numbers offer some solace with Alexander-Arnold ranking joint-best among defenders for chances created (13) and big chances created (two) over the last six matches – the Liverpool full-back is accustomed to creative parity with Kevin De Bruyne (£12.3m).
Above (click to expand): Trent Alexander-Arnold ranks joint-best among defenders for chances created (13) and big chances created (2) over the last six matches
Liverpool’s Gameweek 9 opponents Brighton have failed to score just once in their opening six matches, at home to Newcastle United, and have produced strong underlying offensive numbers this term.
Furthermore, the Seagulls place in the top four over the last six matches for big chances (17) and expected goals (xG), with 10.91.
ERLING HAALAND/KEVIN DE BRUYNE
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